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Overview

The Democracy is at war with the alien Traanskei Coalition. War hero Colonel Nathan Pretorius has a record of success on dangerous behind-enemy-lines missions, missions that usually leave him in the hospital. Now he's recruited for a near-impossible assignment that may well leave him dead.

At the cost of many lives, the Democracy has managed to clone and train General Michkag, one of the Traanskei's master strategists. Colonel Pretorius and a hand-picked team must kidnap the real Michkag if they can, assassinate him if they can't, but no matter which, put the clone in his place, where he will misdirect the enemy's forces and funnel vital information to the Democracy.

Against the odds, Pretorius, along with Cyborg Felix Ortega, computer expert Toni Levi, convict and contortionist Sally "Snake" Kowalski, the near-human empath Marlowe, the alien Gzychurlyx, and Madam Methuselah - the Dead Enders - must infiltrate the Fortress in Orion, accomplish their mission, and escape with their lives.

About the Author

Mike Resnick has won an impressive five Hugos and has been nominated for thirty-one more. The author of the Starship series, the John Justin Mallory series, the Eli Paxton Mysteries, and four Weird West Tales, he has sold sixty-nine science fiction novels and more than two hundred fifty short stories and has edited forty anthologies. His Kirinyaga series, with sixty-seven major and minor awards and nominations to date, is the most honored series of stories in the history of science fiction.

"Oh, I'm going," responded Cooper. "Just as soon as you get your clothes on. I'd wait outside, but first, we're old friends, and second, you'd lock and barricade the door the second I walked through it."

"I'm not going anywhere."

"Yes, you are. We've come up with something really unique, a plan that'll excite even you." He paused. "Especially you."

"The only thing that excites me right now is the thought of solitude."

"I'm not kidding, Nathan. This is something we've been working on for three years. When you see it, it'll just blow you away."

"I can explain it," replied Cooper, "but it'll make much more sense if you see it for yourself." A pause. "You're going to love it, Nathan!"

"If it's so great, why did you bother sending me out on the last couple of missions?"

"This one wasn't ready until now." Cooper's face brightened. "Wait 'til you see it, Nathan! It may change the course of the whole damned war."

"I've heard that before," said Pretorius.

"Not from me. Trust me on this, Nathan."

"It seems to me that I'm learning how to walk and breathe and eat again because I trusted you the last few times."

"This is war, goddamnit!" snapped Cooper, pounding the wall with a fist that made a metal clanging sound. "You think you're the only soldier who was ever injured?"

"All right," said Pretorius with a defeated sigh. "Tell me what this is all about."

Cooper shook his head. "I've got to show you. It'll make more of an impression."

"Are you trying to impress me or prepare me?"

"Both."

"All right," said Pretorius, getting to his feet. "Where are we going?"

"Not far," said Cooper. "Climb into your clothes and follow me." A moment later Cooper was leading him out the door, down a corridor, and over to an airlift. They floated up to a docking station, emerged a few feet from Cooper's personal flier, and were aloft a few seconds later.

Before Pretorius could ask how far they were going, Cooper gave some coded orders to the autopilot and the flyer banked right, slowed down, hovered over the roof of a building Pretorius had never seen before, and descended slowly, landing with barely a tremor.

"This way," said Cooper, climbing out of the flyer and heading off for an airlift. When he got there he waited for Pretorius, who was still getting used to his new leg and still recovering from his organ transplants, to catch up with him.

"How're you holding up, son?" asked Cooper.

"I'm managing, and I'm not your son" was the reply.

"Follow me," said Cooper, entering the airlift.

"Is this thing working?" asked Pretorius as they passed the ground floor and kept descending.

"Perfectly," Cooper assured him.

They descended five more levels and finally came to a stop. When they emerged, Pretorius found himself flanked by heavily armed officers, who fell into step with him behind the general.

They walked down a corridor, entered a large room, crossed it, and came to a halt at a heavy door that reminded Pretorius of a bank's safe, complete with what seemed to be a pair of state-of-the-art locks.

Cooper uttered a coded command so softly that none of the men could hear him. The instant he did so a narrow beam shot out, examined the insignia on his uniform, matched it against his face and skeletal structure, and the door slid open.

"You men wait here," ordered Cooper. "Nathan, come with me."

The two of them walked into a large chamber, and the door snapped shut behind them.

"Alone at last," said Pretorius sardonically.

"Not quite alone, Nathan," replied Cooper. "Come this way."

He led Pretorius off to the left, where there was a single table, some ten feet long. On it rested a translucent container, almost eight feet long, three feet high, and four feet in width, topped by a shimmering energy field. As they approached it, Pretorius was able to make out the form of an alien. It was some six feet tall, with a prehensile nose, more like that of a proboscis monkey than an elephant's trunk. It had two very wide-set eyes, both of them shut; earholes but no ears; and a sharply pointed chin. Its arms were the length of a gorilla's and just as heavily muscled. Its feet were almost circular. Its head and body were devoid of hair, and its color, top to bottom, was a dull red. A number of small wires were attached to its head. And it was breathing.

"Okay," said Pretorius, "so you've got a Kabori. Get four hundred million more, and that's one less threat we'll have to face in this war."

"The Democracy, at the cost of quite a few lives, has managed to steal a sample of General Michkag's DNA from his own medics, and we've managed to clone him. That's what you're looking at—the clone. He's in a state of stasis right now, with language and history being fed into his brain—but he's been awake most of the time since we created him two years ago." He paused and gave the unconscious clone a loving pat on the shoulder. "There is a Kabori psychologist named Djibmet who has ample reason to hate Michkag and the coalition he leads, and for the past two years, even since we created the clone, Djibmet has been teaching him everything else he needs to know—schooling him in Michkag's gestures, verbal inflections, everything he can teach him to help him pass as the real Michkag."

"Will he pass?" asked Pretorius.

"We think so," said Cooper. "Even as he lies there, he's being fed tapes. Still, there's only one way to find out." He flashed Pretorius another grin. "That's where you come in."

Pretorius stared at him but said nothing.

"Your job will be to lead a team that will kidnap the real Michkag if you can, secretly assassinate him if you can't, but in any event put our clone in his place, where he'll misdirect the enemy's forces and find some way to funnel vital information to the Democracy.

Pretorius shook his head. "This is crazy. We won't get within five light-years of Michkag's headquarters. He's better protected than our own leaders are."

"But he won't be in his headquarters two months from now," replied Cooper. "We've intercepted a coded message to the effect that he'll be meeting with members of a federation of human rebels, trying to convince them to join his side. The meeting will take place at a fortress in Orion in two months. You have that long to prepare your team. You can select it from any officers or enlisted men in my command."

"Not a chance," replied Pretorius. Cooper opened his mouth to object, but Pretorius held a hand up to silence hm. "I used your people the last three times, and there are parts of me scattered all the hell across the galaxy. If I go, I'll pick my own team—and they probably won't be members of the armed forces."

"That's absolutely out of the question!"

"Fine. Get yourself another boy. I'm going back to the rehab center." Pretorius began walking to the airlift.

"Damn it, Nathan, it's got to be a military operation!"

"Round up your own military team and good luck to you."

"I could court-martial you for refusing a direct order in wartime!"

"Go ahead. I'll be safer in jail than trying to kidnap or kill the most important general the enemy has."

Cooper stared at him for a long minute. "You really mean that, don't you?"

"Choose your fucking team!" growled Cooper, walking past him and heading to the airlift. "Don't just stand there! You've only got two months to turn the tide of this goddamned war. Time to get to work!"

Editorial Reviews

10/06/2014Resnick returns to his Birthright universe with this middling launch title for the Dead Enders series. His take on the military caper novel in space is entertaining, but it lacks the verve of his earlier space westerns. Col. Nathan Pretorius, recovering after a near-fatal mission, is recruited by the Democracy to assemble a crack team, infiltrate the world of the alien Kabori, and replace their top general with a clone. He gathers a strongman, a thief, a hacker, an empath, and a shapeshifter of sorts, and they set off. Along the way, there are surprisingly few challenges, most of them subverted with relative ease, so tension never has a chance to develop. As always, Resnick includes larger-than-life characters and interesting ideas (e.g., Proto isn’t a true shapeshifter because he projects images into people’s heads, but still remains his usual self), but the plot limits their opportunity to shine, and few of the folks Pretorius meets on the way offer interesting diversions. (Dec.)

“Mike Resnick is able to write deftly and poignantly about a broad spectrum of characters, exploring vast and colorful landscapes, all wrapped up in a highly entertaining story.”—KEVIN J. ANDERSON, New York Times–bestselling author of The Dark between the Stars

“The Fortress in Orion is interstellar intrigue and derring-do of the old school. Dominic Flandry would feel right at home.”—ERIC FLINT, author of the 1632 series

“Packed with colorful characters and endless invention, The Fortress in Orion is exciting entertainment that hurls along at nearly the speed of light. Someone should make a movie out of this book!”—NANCY KRESS, award-winning author of Yesterday’s Kin

“If you’ve anything important to do over the next few days, don’t even start this.”—JACK McDEVITT, Nebula Award–winning author of the Alex Benedict novels

"Resnick is a journeyman in a world of apprentices, one who knows his craft. His name on a book guarantees a solid story and believable characters, constructed with imagination and grace. Most important of all, it guarantees entertainment." —RAYMOND FEIST, of the Magician trilogy

From the Publisher

11/15/2014Five-time Hugo Award winner Resnick ("Weird West Tales"; The Cassandra Project, coauthored with Jack McDevitt) begins a new series in his Birthright Universe with more of a whimper than a bang. Col. Nathan Pretorius is the Democracy's go-to officer for impossible missions, and this one is the craziest yet. Pretorius must smuggle a clone of the leading alien general into a fortress deep in enemy space, establish him there, and kill or kidnap the actual general. Rather than use a military force, Pretorius insists on choosing his team, which includes a cyborg, a computer whiz, a contortionist, and a not-quite shapeshifter. Once the team is assembled, everything goes pretty much according to plan, which is the novel's weakness. The characters are provocative enough, as is the mission, but Pretorius, as written, is just too clever. He anticipates and plans for all obstacles. This works out well for the characters but leaves little in the way of excitement or suspense for the reader. VERDICT This series opener establishes characters with potential; however, future volumes will need to ratchet up the peril in order to satisfy fans.—Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Lib., Wisconsin Rapids

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

I always like a good military space romp. Having never heard of the author, I am always skeptical. However Christian Rummel as the narrator sold me on this title. I am expecting brutal battles with alien races, technological jargon, and an all over fun listen.
This was a very fast paced, straight forward, good old space military adventure. Our hero, Colonel Nathan Pretorius, is the one the military will send when they they think it is an impossible mission, a dead end, knowing that if anyone can pull it off it will be him. Here he gets to choose his team from non-military associations, which helps him immensely in the end.
He recruits his hand picked team of outlaws and they embark on an impossible mission to kidnap the leader of the &ldquo;evil&rdquo; alien warlords. Seems so simple, right? Well, even though they only had a 3% chance of a successful mission, it did seem very easy. Several games of cat and mouse, a few hit and runs and they are finally staring their prize in the face.
Full of colorful characters and alien races, think of Star Wars + Rambo + Ocean&rsquo;s Eleven = The Fortress in Orion. If you are a lover of interesting and humorous dialog, this will be in your wheelhouse.
This was my first adventure by Resnick and I will be looking for more from him in the future as I need to have fun listening every now and again.
Christian Rummel was on point for this one. An audio technician of characterizations, some how creating the perfect voice of each and every one. You wouldn&rsquo;t think that a man with such a deep and resonating &ldquo;normal&rdquo; voice would be able to create believable voices for the female characters. Rummel manages this with no audible effort what so ever.
I knew that I could count on Rummel for delivering a solid performance. He kept me engaged and waiting for whatever happens next.
Audiobook provided for review by the publisher.
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